Improvement in corn-planters



J. OLMSTED.

Corn-Planter.

Patented Jan. 19, 1864.

nlllllllllmlllllh Ll il Inventor;

Witnesses=- wa/hww AM. PHOTO-LITHEL CO. |Y (OSBORNE S PRDCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH OLMSTED, OF KNOXVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOHN H. LEWIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CORN-PLANTERSI Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 41,345, dated January 19, 1864.

Lb all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH OLMSIED, of Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Corn-Planting Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

In said drawings, which are hereunto annexed, Figure 1 represents a plan or top view of. my invention. Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal section through the center; and l ig. 3 shows a side sectional view of one of the seedboxes and of the dropping device attached thereto.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing a corn-planting machine in which the marking and dropping devices are so arranged and connected as to properly adapt themselves to each other as to the time of their operation, in which there is also a novel arrangement for simultaneously retarding or accelerating said devices, so that when the machine is in operation,planting across the field, the operator may readily retard or accelerate themin order to operate them in the proper time and place to make the hills correspond with those in the previously-planted rows.

My invention further consists in a novel arran gement for dropping the seed from the hopper into the drills, which will be hereinafter particularly described.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand how to make and use my invention, I will now describe the same with particularity.

A B in said drawings represent the frame of the machine; 0 G, the wheels upon which it is moved over the field, and D a shaft or axle, supported in suitable hearings in the beams B B, upon which said wheels revolve, which shaft has also an independent rotating motion in its said bearings. Upon the ends of said shaft, outside of the wheels, are fixed the steel or other suitable springs, O O, to which are attached the markers N, as shown. Upon the interior side of one of the wheels is fixed the drum 0, whereby and by means of the cord. 1) and wheel e'the shaft E is revolved. Upon the last-named shaft E is fixed the conical drumf, and upon the shaft or axle D, which revolves independently of the wheels, is fixed a similar conical drum, 9, its apex, however, lyingin the opposite direction,and around these conical drums passes the belta. Upon the shaft D, arranged and operating as aforesaid, are arranged two cams, d (I, for the purposes hereinafter described. The shaft F, provided with the arm h, extending back to the cams d d, is also supported in suitable hearings in the frame of the machine, and the ends thereof, projecting through said frame, are immovably fixed in the curved or bent levers I I, so that when the said shaft F is revolved or oscillated the ends of said levers I I are thrown forward or backward, as the case may be. The upper ends of said levers I I are attached tothe movable slides L in the bottom of the hoppers, which slides are provided with the perforations l, which contain enough corn for one hill. The slides L, being attached to the upper ends of the levers I, are moved forward and backward by the operation or oscillation of the shaft F.

J represents a spring-valve, fastened at the upper end to the block P,and byits own elasticity is kept in the position shown by the dotted line J, thus forming the chamber n, closed at the bottom.

K represents the plows or shares marking the furrows or drills in which the seed is deposited.

Beneath the arm it there is arranged the spring 8, one end whereof is fastened to the front frame-work of the machine, the purpose of which is to bring the arm it back to place after being pressed down by the cams d d.

To enable the operator, seated upon the seat G, readily to adjust the velocity of the shaft D, I employ the following device: The bar S, sliding upon its supports, is provided with two projections, a: or, one on each side of the belt a. At one end said bar is cut in form of a screw, upon which the large nut S is placed, which can easily be turned by the foot of the operator, and as this nut is kept from moving laterally upon the screw by the arm g the turning of the nut moves the sliding bar from right to left, moving the belt a in a corresponding manner. By this arrangement the distance between the hills can be varied at pleasure.

The operation of my improved corn-planter 1 is as follows: As the machine moves along, the

drum 0, cord b, and wheel a revolve the shaft E, which in turn communicates its motion to the shaft or axle D by means of the Delta, and as the markers N and cams (l (I, which operate the dropping apparatus, are fixed upon this axle, of course they operate in connection with each other, the arrangement of said cams being such as to deposit the corn in those places marked by the machine in planting the preceding row. As the cams alternately press upon the end of the arm h the shaft F is oscillated, thereby throwing back the upper end of the levers I, which draws back the slide L,

bringing the perforations lover the aperture m, through which the corn is dropped. In the meantime the lower end of the lever I is thrown forward, allowing the valve J to take the position J, thereby retaining the corn in the chamber n. At the proper time the cam d slips from the arm h, and the spring 8 throws the shaft F, levers I, slide L, and valve J back to their former positions, and the corn is quietly deposited in the desired place without scattering, as would be the case it dropped directly from the hopper.

Having described the construction and operation of my machine, I will now specify what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The combination and arrangement of the drive-wheel G c, the shaft E, provided with the pulley e, the cone-pulleysfg, and shaft D, operatingsubstantially as and for the purposes specified and described.

The combination of the slide L, springvalve J, and lever I, arranged and operating as herein shown and set forth.

3. The combination of the shaft D, arranged as described, the cams d d, the shaft F, provided with the arm h, the spring 8, and lover I, operating as and for the purposes specified.

4. The arrangement of the markers N and springs O with the axle D, for the purposes described and shown.

5. The arrangementof the sliding bar S and nut S with the cone-pulleysfg and belt a, as and for the purposes specified.

JOSEPH OLMSTED.

Witnesses:

J 01am H. LEWIS, SAMUEL L. CHARLES. 

